“For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
It seems as if everyone has this picture of themselves attempting to walk the straight and narrow, but the problem is that in our fallen nature it is impossible. As Romans 3:23 states “For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.”. The church recognizes that even though baptism cleanses us from original sin it doesn’t turn us into robots ¹. As the Catechism puts it “the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil” ². Of course, God also recognized that in our fallen nature which is why he implemented the sacrament of confession.
“If the Church has the power to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. the Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last moment of their lives. It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church” ³
The sacrament of confession was implemented by Christ because he knew we would stray from the straight and narrow path. Look back on his parable of the prodigal son ⁴. He was completely disrespectful to his father, demanded his inheritance, and then squandered his money away. When he was his lowest he returned to his father with a plan that very much mirrors the sacrament of confession. He planned to confess his sins so that maybe his father would hire him as a servant and what does his father do? He celebrates. The prodigal son had lost his way and he had found his way back.
Jesus doesn’t fault us because we wonder from the path of salvation but rather, he celebrates that we have returned. He designed confession specifically to mirror the story of the prodigal son. So how do we return to the straight and narrow road? Confession! We need to confess our sins ⁵, complete satisfaction for our sins ⁶, and do our best with the graces bestowed by God to as the priest says at the conclusion of the sacrament “Go forth and sin no more”.
As stated in the Catechism “In the sacrament of penance, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful judgment of God, anticipates in a certain way the judgment to which he will be subjected at the end of his earthly life. For it is now, in this life, that we are offered the choice between life and death, and it is only by the road of conversion that we can enter the Kingdom, from which one is excluded by grave sin. In converting to Christ through penance and faith, the sinner passes from death to life and “does not come into judgment.” ⁷ During out walk with Christ we will fall short many times and Christ calls EVERYTIME for us to confess our sins and re-enter into communion with him and his Church. So yes, you should aim walk the straight and narrow path but don’t make straying from the path the indicator of failure. If you believe you’ve fallen off the straight and narrow path, remember the words of the Father. “But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.” ⁸ It is better that you learn from straying from the path then never to return.
¹CCC 1731
²CCC 978
³CCC 979-980
⁴Luke 15:11-31
⁵CCC 980
⁶CCC 1459-1460
⁷CCC 1470
⁸Luke 15:32